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1. "The Dark Knight Rises"

In theaters: July 20, 2012Director: Christopher NolanCast: Tom Hardy, Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Matthew Modine, Juno TempleLowdown: It's the final film in the best Batman series, and Christopher Nolan's following up one of the biggest films of all time, no easy feat. Bane may well break the Bat, and Hathaway's Catwoman looks like an interesting take on the character, a sort of accidental emblem for the 99%.

Drew McWeeny says: The IMAX prologue and the new trailer are both intriguing because we have no idea how the pieces we're seeing all connect. That's exciting. There are certainly things to be nervous about, like Bane's mfflnhgh ghggbbtz, but if Nolan sticks the landing, he can write his own ticket with Warner Bros. for eternity, and if I'd bet on anyone this year, I'd bet on him.

Curious. No doubt about it. But Friedkin's so uneven that I have trouble knocking something off my choices for this list in place of his film, particularly when initial festival reactions have been so tepid.

I'd definitely put The Hobbit ahead of The Avengers. The marvel movies have been more miss than hit, and though The Avengers is no doubt ambitious, I don't know anyone who's all that excited about it. With The Hobbit, I expect people to go pretty crazy as we get close to the premiere date. Remember how it was when the LOTR movies came out? In fact, I'd even put The Hobbit above The Dark Knight Rises, but not by nearly as much.

Sorry you guys weren't feeling The Tree of Life. Hope Malick gets you with his next one. To me, it was the film of the year.

I wish it had come out later in the year, because it seems to have been forgotten in all the award show buzz (that and the fact that Malick probably wouldn't show up to receive the award).

I really think that films that challenge us should be rewarded. Malick made a film that questioned and tried to rationalize the idea of God within our lives. How many films or filmmakers have the balls and the talent to do that?

Only guys like Kubrick and Scorcese spring to mind. Actually it was interesting how Malick, Scorcese, and Spielberg, all old masters, really seemed to push themselves out of their comfort zones and make pictures that stretched their talents as filmmakers this year. The younger filmmakers can learn from their ambition.

Although The Tree of Life lost its ambiguity at the end (Malick seems to have made up his mind about the whole is there a God thing). I thought it contained the greatest depiction of childhood I'd ever seen put to film. A totally unromanticized version of childhood. Absolutely brilliant.

I can't say I'm stoked for The Hunger Games, but I'll always give Gary Ross the benefit of the doubt. Pleasantville is one of the greatest films to come out of the 90's.

The Hobbit behind the Avengers is crazy and trust it will blow away the Dark Knight at the boxoffice too...have you not seen the youtube view totals on the trailer...I`m excited to see the new Batman but it`s not close to my excitement for the Hobbit..

I think Cloud Atlas, Django, and The Dark Knight Rises would be my picks. What about Rust and Bone? It's a Jacques Audiard movie about amputees. Gangster Squad, On The Road, Stoker, Looper, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World? You should have made a list with 50 titles, because there is a lot of interesting-sounding movies coming out.